1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to gaming machines generally, and in particular to methods of play and pays for a video gambling machine.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
One of the most common gambling devices in use today is the slot machine. Originally, slot machines were mechanical and had 3 or 4 independent reels side-by-side. Each reel had several symbols painted on it. Inserting a coin and pulling a large spring-loaded handle set the reels spinning independently, and when the same symbols landed in a row across the reels, a winner occurred and coins were released from the machine.
Today, many new slot machines are in video form. Video slots are becoming more and more popular with players. The video platform offers more flexibility in game development and results in more complicated and more involving and entertaining games. These new video slots are controlled by an internal computer. They usually don't have a large handle anymore, and some don't even have buttons, using touchscreen panels to make player choices instead.
The video slot machine usually consists of a cabinet built mostly of metal and plastic that houses many different internal components. The basic functions are coin acceptance, game play and coin dispensing, although it is becoming increasingly common for slot machines to accept and pay back in currency or coupons instead of, or in addition to coins.
Coin acceptance is most often done by means of a coin head where coins are inserted into the game. A coin chute directs the coin into an internal coin hopper, if equipped, or into a removable drop bucket beneath the machine when the hopper is full. Winners may be paid back to players from the coin hopper through a small chute where coins land in a special tray where they are available to the player. Again, bill acceptors common today may accept and payout in currency or coupons in addition to or instead of coins.
Internally, game play is managed by a central processor on a printed circuit board similar to that of a standard personal computer. CD-ROMs and proms (programmable read-only memory computer chips) are often used, too. A power supply provides the current, and the game is displayed back to the player on a video monitor. Buttons on the outside of the cabinet provide for player input, although sometimes touchscreen panels are affixed to the monitor and used in addition to, or instead of buttons. Other printed circuit boards perform auxiliary functions, and there are usually mechanical meters counting coins in and out. Too, there is internal lighting to make the game clearly noticeable, and external glass usually shows the rules of the game. Finally, games may be networked to each other to report game and player statistics to the accounting office, or to play special games that are somehow linked to each other in a variety of different configurations.
A traditional non-video slot machine equipped with mechanical reels is largely the same as a video slot, except that the video display is replaced with a mechanical spinning reel assembly. Some games in use today are hybrids and use both mechanical reels and a video display.
Newer video slots usually show 5 reels side-by-side that spin on a common axis instead of the traditional 3 or 4 mechanical reels. These newer video slots usually display 3 symbols on each of the 5 reels, for a total of display of 15 symbols. This creates a video display matrix of 3 rows by 5 columns. Sometimes the number of reels and symbols displayed differ. Some new video slots display 4 symbols on 4 reels, for a total of 16 symbols. Others have independent reels showing just 1 position of each reel.
Displaying more symbols allows more wagering opportunities. Instead of a single paying row across the reels, there are often many different pay lines that can be wagered on. Usually, these pay lines run in different paths through each of 5 reels displayed. Players select which pay lines to wager on, they wager 1 or more credits per pay line and they may win on more than 1 pay line after a single spin of the reels.
Another popular feature of video slot machines is the use of bonus screens. Certain symbols trigger a bonus game that is often called a “second screen” game. The second screen game is usually separate and distinct from the normal video reel display, and a player might select a car in a car race or scratch from a selection of video lottery tickets in an attempt to win credits, free games or anything of value. Some games even offer third screens or more, enhancing player interest and intrigue. After the bonus game, the player is usually returned to the normal video reel display and winnings, if any, are posted to the player's onscreen credit meter for subsequent play or cashout.
Another popular form of video slot machine is the video poker machine. Instead of a video representation of a slot machine, video poker cards are dealt randomly and displayed onscreen. Usually 5 cards are dealt from a video representation of a common playing card deck of 52 cards and the player, using physical buttons, touchscreen or similar device, selects which cards to hold and which cards to discard, if any. A player may discard from 0 to all 5 cards. Then, the player draws from 0 to 5 new cards from the 47 cards remaining in the original deck, replacing any discards in an attempt to better the hand. This hand is compared to a predefined pay table which determines the amount of the win if a win or a loss. This game is commonly known as draw poker.
The pay table was developed as a way to pay players when there are no opponents. These games are sometimes called “house banked” games, since the house (casino or gambling operator) pays players for winning. Alternatively, they are sometimes called “player's hand only” games, since it is usually only the player's hand that is relevant. Winnings do not come directly from other losing players, as in normal card games. The pay table is a fixed, predefined schedule of pays for hands designated as winners.
A typical pay table for video draw poker machines looks like this. (Pays shown are returns for 1 coin wagered):
TABLE 1Common Video Poker Pay TableHandPayRoyal Flush800Straight Flush50Four of a Kind25Full House9Flush6Straight4Three of a Kind3Two Pairs2Pair of Jacks (or Better)1Pair of Tens or Less0
The hand is compared to the pay table to see if a win occurs, and if so, how much it pays. The pay amount is then multiplied times the number of coins or credits wagered, usually from 1 to 5, to determine the amount of the win, if any. If 5 coins are bet, for example, and a royal flush is obtained, then 4000 coins are paid to the player (5×800=4000). Note that one credit is equal to one coin, and that these terms are used interchangeably herein.
The pay table defines the game objectives for the player in terms of a monetary reward or payback. The payback for each hand can be multiplied by its expected frequency of occurrence to derive an overall game payback percentage for the player. Since strategy is an integral part of the game, that is deciding which cards to hold and which to discard, an optimal strategy is usually used to determine an optimal game payback. An optimal strategy employs the best draw decisions for every possible hand dealt. Since perfect play is rare, an expected payback is usually also found that accounts for sub-optimal play due to human error or incorrect decision making.
In the example shown in Table 1, the expected payback would be found by multiplying a winning hand pay by the % frequency to arrive at an expected value. The expected values of each pay are then summed to arrive at an overall expected value, or optimal payback, for the game overall.
TABLE 2Finding the Optimal and Expected PaybackHandPay% FrequencyExpected Value %Royal Flush8000.00282.8000Straight Flush500.01110.5550Four of a Kind250.23555.8875Full House91.148410.3356Flush61.11296.6774Straight41.13064.5224Three of a Kind37.414822.2444Two Pairs212.889825.7796Pair of Jacks (or Better)121.264921.2649Pair of Tens or Less054.78920.0000Total100.0000%100.0668%Note:Optimal payback is 100.0668% with perfect play. Expected payback is 2.0% less due to sub optimal play, or 98.0668%.
It is important to point out the fixed nature of the pay table. Some games will accept bets of up to 100 coins or more, but the amount of the win is simply multiplied by the number of coins bet to determine the total pay. In our example above, but with a bet of 100 coins, the pay would be 8000 (100×800=8000).
Note that the pay table in Table 2 is somewhat atypical, since the optimal expected value exceeds 100.0%. Gambling operators usually rely on sub optimal play by players to assure they retain their mathematical advantage. At other times such a pay table is used for marketing so that operators can advertise greater than 100% paybacks, or as a shill game to generate activity in certain areas.
Since the pay table defines a player's objectives and rewards, some poker variants have been devised to better the pay table returns in an attempt to be more appealing to the player.
Some poker variations change only the pay table and are known by such names as bonus poker or double bonus poker. They still play by the same rules of draw poker and pay according to a single, fixed pay table. The common thread in these games is that the pays for individual hands vary from the normal ranking. Four deuces might offer a better pay than 4 kings, for example. The drawback of these games is that what is normally a greater hand pays less than what is normally a lesser hand. Another drawback is that any single, fixed pay table game can become boring after awhile.
Many offer a bonus for playing more coins. On the royal flush hand it is common to pay 250 for 1 if wagering from 1 to 4 coins, but 800 for 1 if betting the maximum 5 coins. One drawback of this game is that in order to accommodate the bonused hand pay, the pay table returns for the other winning hands are reduced. (This is required to retain a house advantage.)
Another variation of video poker includes a progressive jackpot pay. A progressive increases the pay for a given hand based on the amount that the game has been played until the progressive award is paid out, whereupon it is reset to its starting value. For example, many video poker machines have a progressive royal flush award. The pay for the royal flush might start out at the reset value of 800, but then increase at a typical rate of 1% of moneys wagered. Assuming that $1000 has been wagered since reset, then 1% ($10) is added to the pay for a royal flush so that 810 is the value on the pay table (shown on a mechanical meter or video display). Note this example assumes one credit or one coin is worth one dollar. (Poker games are offered in various denominations.) As soon as the royal flush is won and paid, its pay returns to its reset value, and it starts over, incrementing again based on the amount of money wagered.
Some video poker machines have multiple progressives. They may offer a progressive jackpot pay on 4-of-a-Kind and a Royal Flush hand, for example. It is also common to link several machines such that the total amount wagered on all machines contributes to the progressive pay. When it is won and paid on any machine on the link, the pay is restarted at the reset value on all linked machines. By linking multiple machines in this manner, the progressive usually increases much faster which builds player interest and excitement. One drawback of progressives, is that in the non progressive portions of the pay table hand pays must be reduced to compensate for the additional percentage paybacks granted in the progressive hand wins to ensure the house advantage.
Double down stud, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,413, has no conventional draw. It does, however, permit a player to raise the bet in an attempt to receive a greater return. A drawback of this game is that is requires an additional wager to yield a greater return.
Triple play poker, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,873, allows held cards to be played as multiple hands and each drawn to independently, usually resulting in 3 different hands. Although each hand pays according to the single pay table, a drawback of this game is that to play each additional hand requires an additional wager.
The poker game described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,132,311 may include a bonus multiplier where obtaining a special symbol multiplies any winning payout by a fixed integer. This game also allows multiple hand play for a single wager. A drawback of this game is that the pay table must be reduced to compensate for the bonus multipliers and multiple hand winners, again to ensure the house retains its advantage. Another drawback is that multiplying any winning payout by a fixed integer does not allow for more subtle variations in the pay table returns.
The gaming device described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,234,897 may include a poker hand as a bonus feature on a traditional slot machine. One drawback of this game is that the poker pay table offered thereby (and the related expected value) is a function solely of the triggering base game outcome. Therefore, once triggered it becomes, in effect, a single fixed pay table.
A drawback of all fixed pay table games is that to be played optimally, they require the same strategy be employed. That is, once you know the correct strategy for a certain pay table, you play that strategy over and over again and the game eventually becomes boring, monotonous and routine.
Other video card games include rummy, where the pay table pays for runs and sets, video blackjack, other poker variations such as 7-card stud, and community card games such as Texas hold 'em, Omaha and pai gow poker, for example.
Gambling operators try to offer the most entertaining and exciting gambling games possible to stimulate greater play and increase profits. A common theme in new games is the attempt to offer a greater return for a given wager in a manner that appeals to players. Since the house must retain its advantage, however, game designers are limited in what they can do and many new games result in a simple tit-for-tat exchange of pays within the pay table. That is, one hand pays more while another hand pays less. Due to the repetitive nature of traditional game play, operator's desires to increase play and the proliferation and acceptance of gambling worldwide, the need for new and exciting video card games is greater than ever. The present invention is directed to satisfying these needs.